Chief People Officer, Lafayette Square Holding Company, LLC

Caitlin McLaughlin is the Chief People Officer at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Caitlin served as Executive Vice President and Talent Strategy Executive for the PNC Financial Services Group with overall responsibility for PNC’s enterprise talent strategy. 

Previously, Caitlin served as Managing Director focused on global campus recruiting and program management at Citigroup and held several roles within the organization and its predecessor companies, Salomon Smith Barney, and Salomon Brothers. 

Caitlin is Chair of the Vibrant Pittsburgh Board of Directors where she previously served as vice-chair and led the 2019 Search Committee for the organizations current CEO. She serves the boards of the Forte Foundation and Carlow University. She is also a member of the board of directors of Partner4Work. She chairs the Talent Attraction and Retention Committee for the Allegheny Conference for Community Development. Caitlin holds a B.A. in Political Communications from the University of Pittsburgh. 

Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, UPMC

John Galley serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for UPMC. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBenefits Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of UPMC. John has worked in the steel, retail, global technology, and health care industries with responsibilities relating to strategic initiatives in both the Corporate Human Resources and Finance areas, including insourcing and outsourcing solutions. 

John holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Duquesne University with a major in Accounting and an MBA from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh with concentration in Finance. He is a Certified Treasury Management Analyst and has earned various designations under the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) Program co-sponsored by the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP). John is a longstanding board director of Vibrant Pittsburgh, currently serving as Vice-Chair of the Board and as a member of the Diversity Assessment Committee. John is an active member at his church, serving as a Deacon and on the Worship Team.

Executive Vice President & COO, Koppers, Inc.

James A. Sullivan is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for all four of Koppers business units. In addition, he oversees corporate procurement and process excellence. Jim joined Koppers as Vice President of Business Development, Koppers Inc. in June 2013. Subsequently, he held the role of Senior Vice President, Global Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC), Koppers Inc. from April 2014 to May 2018. He was then elected Senior Vice President, Railroad Products and Services and Global Carbon Materials and Chemicals, Koppers Inc. from May 2018 through December 2019. Prior to joining Koppers, Jim served as Senior Vice President, Americas at Calgon Carbon Corporation where he also held various management positions in the areas of operations, marketing, sales, and research and development. 

He graduated from Ryerson University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and earned his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz School of Business. Jim currently is a member of the Board of Directors for Vibrant Pittsburgh where he serves as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee.  

Chief Executive Officer, CAEL

As the president of CAEL, Earl Buford oversees the national nonprofit organization’s work to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth for adult learners in collaboration with workforce and economic developers, post-secondary educators, employers, industry groups, foundations, and other mission-aligned groups. Before CAEL, Buford was the Chief Executive Officer of Partner4Work as well as Employ Milwaukee, where he was nationally recognized for implementing and integrating a sector-based approach to workforce development. Buford was also the leader of one of the first intermediaries in the country, WRTP/BIG-STEP. 

Buford is an active board member with several organizations, including serving as Secretary of the Board for Vibrant Pittsburgh and a member of the Finance Committee, National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Apprenticeships for America, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Catalyst Connection, Bridgeway Capital, Cleveland Federal Reserve (Pittsburgh Chapter), and Strada Education Network’s National Strategic Advisory Group. He is a former member of Vice President Joe Biden’s Task Force on Effective Workforce Strategies, the National Network of Sector Partners, the Wisconsin Governor’s Task Force on Minority Unemployment, and the National Skills Coalition Advisory Board, among many others. Buford graduated from the University of Wisconsin, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in History.

Director, Urban and Regional Analysis Program, UCSUR, University of Pittsburgh

Sabina Deitrick is Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) and co-director of the Urban and Regional Analysis program at the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on issues of transition and transformation in post-industrial cities and their neighborhoods. Recent articles are in American Journal of Health Studies, Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Economic Development Quarterly, and Cityscape. She co-editor of When Fracking Comes to Town:  Governance, Planning, and Economic Impacts of the US Shale Boom (Cornell University Press, 2021). She currently serves on the City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission and is a board member of the Steel Valley Authority and American Society for Public Administration -Keystone State Chapter. She received her BA and MA from the University of Pennsylvania and PhD in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Chief Diversity Officer/General Manager, Corporate Human Resources, United States Steel Corporation

Mona is an accomplished Human Resources executive with an extensive and proven track record of working closely with business leaders at all levels. She serves as Chief Diversity Officer & General Manager Corporate Human Resources at United States Steel Corporation.  As a leader of talent management functions across a variety of industries, her expertise is utilized to develop inclusive leaders, create engaging environments, and promote talent practices that drive performance and business results. Mona has worked in senior level roles in Fortune 500 firms and predominant higher education institutions including Kennametal and HarbisonWalker International. Mona holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the Ohio State University.   

​Mona serves on the Board for the International Coaching Federation, Pittsburgh chapter. She also volunteers for the National Diversity Council and the March of Dimes.  Mona functions as a Corporate Advisory Committee member and Mentor for PA Women Work.  In addition, she serves as the Chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Forum and on the Board of Directors for Vibrant Pittsburgh.  

Executive Vice President, Equitable Advisors

Michael Divito is an Edinboro native and a graduate of Penn State University – The Behrend College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Finance and his Certificate in Financial Planning.  He is also a veteran of the United States Army.  Michael has been with Equitable since 2005 as a Certified Financial Planner® and is currently the Executive Vice President/Managing Partner of the Equitable Advisors in Erie, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. 

Michael resides in Wexford, PA with his wife Jill and his two children, Madison and Joseph.  In his spare time, he enjoys working out and playing golf.     

Senior Vice President & Chief Clinical Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Allegheny Health Network

Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG, is the first Senior Vice President and the Chief Clinical Officer of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Allegheny Health Network/Highmark Health, including their Enterprise Institute of Equitable Health in Pittsburgh, Pa. A healthcare strategist, medical practitioner, champion of diversity and inclusion and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew lectures frequently, regionally and internationally, and appears on television to discuss women’s health issues. She is also the author of an autobiography, The Colors of My Heart: Embracing My Blackness with History, Family, Fear, and Faith.

A native Pittsburgher, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew recently returned from Cleveland, Ohio where she led the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs for University Hospitals of Cleveland. There, she served as Chair & Director of the Center for Clinical Excellence and Diversity at University Hospitals as well as Dean of Students for Case Western Reserve University.

Vice President of Human Resources, Community College of Allegheny County

Kimberly Manigault serves as CCAC s vice president for Human Resources. She was formerly the director of Human Resources at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. Prior to her higher education experience, Ms. Manigault worked for the Mahoning County Department of Job & Family Services as the human resources administrator in Youngstown, Ohio, and served in other administrative and legal capacities in public service.

Ms. Manigault is also an attorney, having begun her career representing indigent individuals at a legal aid agency. Throughout her varied career, she has developed expertise in many areas, including conflict resolution, professional development, labor and employee relations, cultural diversity and policy development. She is the author of Victory in the Workplace, a devotional workplace resource. As a leader, she strives to create a collaborative and inclusive work atmosphere that fosters innovation and continuous improvement.

She holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Marketing from The Ohio State University.

Full Economist, RAND Corporation

Melanie is a Full Economist with the RAND Corporation in Pittsburgh, and codirector of the Middle-Class Pathways Center. Her broader research interests include workforce development, family processes, higher education finance, and military personnel issues. She is interested in connecting with researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to improve the onramps and pathways to family-sustaining wages.

Melanie received my PhD in Economics and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon in May 2017. Her dissertation explored the connections between household composition and the labor market, with chapters discussing coresidence across the age spectrum and asymmetric information in marriage. While a graduate student, she designed and taught an applied microeconomics course for rising college seniors interested in public policy.

Melanie is a Syracuse University alumna receiving a B.S. Economics, B.A. Policy Studies, Mathematics minor.